NU Graduation

Graduation 2017

On May 27, 2017 the third graduation ceremony took place at Nazabayev University with the participation of the Head of State, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The solemn ceremony was attended by students, their parents, as well as faculty, leaders of large national companies and other guests.

Nazarbayev University, created by the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan in 2010, is the flagship of national education. This year, 737 students became graduates of the university: 499 bachelors, 229 masters and, for the first time in history of NU, - 9 people graduated with a PhD degree. 75 graduates received diplomas with honors.
The largest cohort of graduating students are from the School of Science and Technology (224 graduates); School of Engineering (214 graduates); School of Humanities and Social Sciences (144 graduates); Graduate School of Education (78 graduates); Graduate School of Business (54 graduates), Graduate School of Public Policy (23 graduates). Such majors as electrical and electronic engineering, biological sciences, political science and international relations, mathematics are among the most demanded.

The total number of students in 8 schools has increased to 3,782 students: - 715 students of the foundation year program, 2 323 undergraduates, 603 masters, 90 PhD, 51 MD students.
Every year more than 700 people become holders of the academic scholarship at Nazarbayev University. Applicants who received the highest results after the entrance examinations are studying at the University on the conditions of a state educational grant, which covers the student's expenses for the entire period of study. The education of master and PhD degree students is also administered within the framework of the state educational order. Graduate School of Business is the only exception. Schools of Nazarbayev University develop their academic curricula in partnership with the world's leading universities. The best national and international researchers are invited to the University to ensure interaction between education, science and production (industry), as well as to create an effective academic environment and to develop the country's human capital.

Speaking of Nazarbayev University’s first cohort of 9 PhD students, it is noticeable that one of the key goals the University is to promote reforms in the system of higher education and science in Kazakhstan. In terms of this, Nazarbayev University is the flagship, and we are proud that all of our first PhD students are the graduates of Graduate School of Education. Their primary activity is research. During their training at GSE they were studying the disciplines that are extremely relevant at the moment for Kazakhstan’s education system.
In this context, the topics of PhD theses of our students are of particular interest. For example, there are projects that aim to identify the most effective ways of using all three languages (Kazakh, Russian and English) in the teaching process. There are also projects devoted to the teaching methods during freshman courses, improvements that will allow to make the whole process of education at the university more effective. Others explore such aspects as the entrance of graduates to the labor market; on one hand, they studied what professional skills the graduates of the University should possess, and on the other, the demand for specialists in the labor market.
We hope that in future, the research of our PhD students will form the basis of reforms that will improve the system of education and science in Kazakhstan.